Promise?
by Really Big Hat
Summary: "Um... Sokka... I had a bad dream..." Sokka widened his eyes. Toph Beifong, his best friend, who he'd known for years, who was always so strong and confident, who wasn't afraid of anything, was standing at his door, looking so frail, tiny, and fearful.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of it's characters.**

**Words: 960  
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**World: Cartoon and The Legend of Korra.  
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**Characters: Sokka, Toph, Lin, Aang (mentioned), and Katara (mentioned)  
**

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Sokka laid on the ground, curled up inside his sleeping bag, just waiting for the blessing of sleep to wash over him like a wave. It was one of those nights that you couldn't sleep. Not because you had something on your mind, or because you weren't tired, but simply because you _couldn't_. No matter how many sheep you count or how long you count from one hundred, it was just useless.

Sokka groaned in aggravation as he turned in his sleeping bag once more. "I hate the world," he grunted, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth turned into a frown as he gritted his teeth. "I hate the sleep spirit for not giving me the bless of sleep tonight."

Suddenly, just before the Water Tribe warrior was about to spit out another curse, a small tapping was sounded on his rock wall. Sokka widened his eyes and relaxed his facial muscles. "Who the heck is still awake?" he asked himself, only to be reminded by himself that he too have not gone to sleep.

Reluctantly, Sokka managed to climb out of his blue sleeping bag and trudged to the fabric wall of his tent. "Toph?" he cocked an eyebrow as he saw the figure in front of him. She wasn't looking towards his face, but towards the left. Her eyes were filled with embarrassment, and… _fright?_

"Um… Sokka…," she started, her voice shaky and strained. "…I had a bad dream…,"

The Water Tribe warrior widened his eyes in shock. Toph Beifong, his best friend, who he'd known for years, who was always so strong and confident, who wasn't afraid of _anything_, was standing at his door, looking so frail, tiny, and fearful.

"Can I sleep with you?" Toph now looked in the general direction of Sokka's face, and tried to force a small, embarrassed smile.

Sokka couldn't stop the small smile tug at the corner of his mouth as he held open the door, motioning her to come inside. "Come on in," he welcomed, as the small girl eagerly, but cautiously fallowed him in. Sokka laid his blanket out and opened up his sleeping bag, and laid down next to his earth bending friend.

There was a moment of silence, and awkwardness in Sokka's case, before anyone talked. "Toph, what was your nightmare about…?" he finally managed, staring at his friends dirt covered hair on the back of her head.

Silence was the only response he got for a few heartbeats, until her voice quivered. "…The war…."

The Water Tribe warrior could've sworn he felt his heart stopped. The war only ended a few weeks to a month before, and the memory of the two best friends dangling off of the Fire Nation airship was still fresh in the duo's minds, haunting the both of them. Sokka would never mention it, but he too has had these reoccurring nightmares. "_Oh…_" was all he could muster up within his frozen vocal cords.

Not much was said between the two after that, and the only sound was their breathing and the loud, but steady _thump thump _of their hearts. Sokka was finally almost drifting into sleep when a voice snapped him out of his trance.

"Thanks Sokka." Toph muttered as she snuggled deeper into his chest, her fists clutching his shirt, listening to the calming beating of his heart. Forgetting that she had just ruined his closest attempt of falling asleep, he smiled and wrapped an arm around the small earthbender.

"You're welcome, Toph. Anytime."

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Sokka lounged on the couch of Toph's home, eating some jerky and listening to the radio late at night. He was asked by Toph to babysit her daughter, Lin, while she went to take care of some "Metalbending police duties". It was around midnight, and Toph would be home in about an hour. The councilman had raided Toph's food cupboard in search of meat, after all, she said help himself.

"Uncle Sokka?" the small voice made him jump as he looked around for the source. To his right of the couch, stood an eleven year old Lin Beifong. She was looking at the ground, twiddling her thumbs together, her face sad and embarrassed. "I had a bad dream."

Sokka smiled at his god-niece. He studied her posture, the helpless, embarrassed, fragile look on her face, and how much she looked like her mother. He opened his arms up to her, "Come here." he said, as she climbed up onto his lap and laid there. He stroked her raven black hair, and swiped her bangs out of her face, picking out all of the characteristics she had gotten from her mother, and assumed the rest was from her father.

"Do you want to tell me your dream?" he asked, his voice soft and quiet. Lin, with her eyes still closed, as she snuggled into Sokka's chest, balling up her fists against him, just as her mother had done all those years ago, and frowned in fright.

"I had a dream mom died. And I didn't have anywhere to go."

Sokka gave her a sympathetic look and stroked her hair more. "Lin, that would never happen, because I won't let anything happen to you two." Lin just buried her head deeper into his chest. "And if that ever happened, I would be there to protect you. Uncle Aang and Aunt Katara would be there to protect you. You would never be alone."

The girl looked up at him, her eyes scared and begging, like a baby poodle monkey who was lost. "Promise?" she asked.

Sokka smiled down on her, and nodded and gathered all the meaning and love in the world. "Promise."

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**Aw, wasn't that adorable? I honestly like the moment between Lin and Sokka more then the moment between Sokka and Toph. I just love family fluff ^-^**

**I hardly edited this, so sorry if there are a few mistakes. I tried to catch them.  
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**I like the idea of Lin being afraid of being alone. Since she's never had a father (in my fanon canon), and has had to rely on Toph to be both her mother and her father.  
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**I'm also very disappointed. Out of the 250 hits on my story Counting the Times, I didn't get a _single_ review! I promise that I'll review every story I favorite from now on if I get some reviews on that story, and this story. And I don't break my promises.  
**

**~RBH~  
**


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